United Nations
Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities
CRPD/C/GC/2
Distr.: General
22 May 2014
Original: English
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Eleventh session
31 March–11 April 2014
General comment No. 2 (2014)
Article 9: Accessibility
I. Introduction
1.
Accessibility is a precondition for persons with disabilities to live independently and
participate fully and equally in society. Without access to the physical environment, to
transportation, to information and communication, including information and
communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or
provided to the public, persons with disabilities would not have equal opportunities for
participation in their respective societies. It is no coincidence that accessibility is one of the
principles on which the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is based
(art. 3 (f)). Historically, the persons with disabilities movement has argued that access to
the physical environment and public transport for persons with disabilities is a precondition
for freedom of movement, as guaranteed under article 13 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Similarly, access to information and communication is seen as a precondition for freedom
of opinion and expression, as guaranteed under article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and article 19, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights.
2.
Article 25 (c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights enshrines
the right of every citizen to have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in
his or her country. The provisions of this article could serve as a basis to incorporate the
right of access into the core human rights treaties.
3.
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination guarantees everyone the right of access to any place or service intended for
use by the general public, such as transport, hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres and parks
(art. 5 (f)). Thus, a precedent has been established in the international human rights legal
framework for viewing the right to access as a right per se. Admittedly, for members of
different racial or ethnic groups, the barriers to free access to places and services open to
the public were the result of prejudicial attitudes and a readiness to use force in preventing
access to spaces that were physically accessible. However, persons with disabilities face
technical and environmental — in most cases, human-built environmental — barriers such
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